Chapter 6: The Truth Behind the Crash
Lily stopped moving.
I grabbed her arm.
"Don't listen to her.""
Vanessa smiled.
"Still protecting people without knowing what they've done, Ethan? You haven't changed.""
I stepped toward the car.
"Give me the trust documents.""
"Come and get them.""
Collins appeared at the end of the alley.
He held one hand inside his jacket.
"Nobody moves.""
Vanessa lowered the window halfway.
"Mark, don't frighten the children.""
Then she turned back to me.
"Your father was always sentimental. That's why he made so many mistakes.""
"What did you do to him?""
Her smile disappeared.
"Careful, Ethan.""
"What did you do?""
She looked at Lily.
"Ask your sister about the night your mother died.""
Lily began shaking.
I turned toward her.
"What's she talking about?""
"I don't know," Lily whispered.
Vanessa laughed.
"Of course you don't. Your adoptive parents were very good at keeping you ignorant.""
Collins stepped closer.
"Enough. Both of you, get in the car.""
I looked at him.
"Are you arresting us?""
"Depends on how cooperative you are.""
"For what?""
He smiled.
"Possession of stolen company records. Obstruction. Possibly conspiracy.""
I almost laughed.
The same detective who had fabricated evidence against me was now threatening to arrest me for possessing evidence.
"You're making the same mistake twice," I said.
His expression hardened.
"Last time, I put you away for three years. Don't tempt me to make it longer.""
Vanessa opened her handbag.
She pulled out a thick envelope.
"Here, Ethan. You want the truth? I'll give it to you.""
She threw the envelope onto the pavement.
Several photographs spilled out.
The first showed my mother beside a red car.
The second showed her speaking to a man outside a gas station.
The third showed the same car overturned beside a wooded road.
I picked up the last photograph.
My mother's car.
The windshield was shattered.
The driver's side door was crushed.
I looked at Vanessa.
"Where did you get these?""
"Your father kept them.""
"Why?""
"Because he spent the rest of his life wondering whether he had married the wrong woman.""
She leaned toward me.
"Your mother was not the innocent angel you remember.""
Lily suddenly stepped forward.
"Stop talking about her!""
Vanessa raised an eyebrow.
"Still pretending you know who your real family is?""
Lily's voice shook.
"You don't know anything about her.""
"Oh, sweetheart. I knew her very well.""
Collins moved closer.
"Get in the car. Now.""
I looked at Lily.
"Go.""
She shook her head.
"I'm not leaving you.""
"Find a way out.""
I pushed her toward the rear gate.
Collins lunged for my jacket.
I twisted away, but he caught the sleeve.
The fabric tore.
Lily ran through the gate.
Vanessa shouted something, and Collins released me.
By the time he reached the gate, Lily had disappeared.
I was left standing in the alley with my hands raised.
Vanessa stepped out of the sedan.
She approached slowly, holding the envelope.
"Your sister is just like your mother," she said.
"What does that mean?""
"It means she thinks the truth will save her.""
She placed the photographs against my chest.
"Your mother was going to expose me. She had documents showing that I had transferred company funds.""
"Because you stole them.""
"Because I was protecting myself.""
"From what?""
Vanessa's face hardened.
"From a man who promised to destroy me.""
I stared at her.
"Who?""
She smiled again.
"Your father.""
Then she walked back to the car.
Before getting inside, she turned.
"Tell Robert that I want the original recording. He knows what happens if I don't get it.""
The sedan pulled away.
Collins stayed behind.
He leaned close enough for me to smell the coffee on his breath.
"You're going to make this very difficult for yourself.""
I looked him in the eyes.
"You already made it difficult.""
He shoved me against the wall.
"Listen carefully. You have no money, no lawyer, no home, and no one willing to testify for you. You're a convicted thief.""
I straightened my jacket.
"Then why are you so afraid of what I might find?""
For the first time, he didn't have an answer.
He walked away.
I found Lily twenty minutes later at a small pharmacy two blocks away.
She was sitting on a bench outside, crying.
When she saw me, she stood immediately.
"Are you hurt?""
"I'm fine.""
She looked at the torn sleeve of my jacket.
"That's not fine.""
I sat beside her.
"Tell me what Vanessa meant.""
Lily wiped her eyes.
"I don't know everything.""
"Then tell me what you do know.""
She opened her handbag and removed a small cassette recorder.
"My adoptive father gave me this before he died.""
I stared.
"What's on it?""
"Your mother's voice.""
My chest tightened.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?""
"Because I wasn't sure whether I could trust you.""
I looked at her.
"I'm your brother.""
"I know. But Vanessa told me you were responsible for your father's death.""
I froze.
"What?""
"She said you had been stealing from him for years. She said your father died because he discovered what you'd done.""
I shook my head.
"She lied.""
"I know that now.""
Lily pressed the play button.
Static filled the air.
Then a woman's voice emerged.
My mother's voice.
I hadn't heard it in more than a decade.
"Ethan, sweetheart, if you ever hear this, I need you to know that none of this is your fault.""
I covered my mouth.
My mother's voice continued.
"Vanessa has been taking money from your father's company. I found the accounts. I found the payments. And I found out that someone in the courthouse is helping her.""
Lily began crying.
The recording crackled.
"William wants to confront her, but I'm afraid. Not for myself. For my children.""
I closed my eyes.
Then my mother said something I would never forget.
"There's a little girl who deserves to know her brother. And there's a little boy who deserves to know his sister. If Vanessa discovers what I've hidden, she'll use both of you to protect herself.""
The recording stopped briefly.
Then another voice spoke.
A man's voice.
My father's.
"Margaret, we should go to the police.""
My mother answered.
"No, William. Not yet. Whitmore has already been paid.""
I looked at Lily.
She pressed the button again.
My mother continued.
"I have the original bank records. I have the names. And I have proof that the accident wasn't an accident.""
My entire body went cold.
Then came a sound.
A car door.
My mother whispered:
"Someone's outside.""
My father's voice became urgent.
"Margaret, turn off the recorder.""
A final sentence came through.
"If I don't make it home tonight, William, promise me you'll protect the children.""
The recording ended.
I sat frozen on the bench.
Lily held the cassette recorder against her chest.
"My adoptive father said our mother gave him another envelope. He told me it contained the evidence that could explain everything.""
"Where is it?""
"In a safety deposit box.""
"Which bank?""
She looked at me.
"First National Bank. Downtown Atlanta.""
I stood.
"Then we're going there.""
But Lily didn't move.
"Ethan, there's something else.""
I turned.
She reached into her handbag and removed a folded letter.
It had been addressed to her by my father.
The date was six months before his death.
I opened it.
Lily, if Ethan ever comes home, give him this message.
Tell him I know who was driving the car that night.
I looked up.
Lily was crying again.
I read the final sentence.
And tell him that the person behind the wheel was not Vanessa.
My fingers went numb.
I looked at my sister.
"Then who was it?""
Lily shook her head.
"I don't know.""
She turned the letter over.
On the back was a name.
One I recognized from the photograph Robert had shown me at the cemetery.
*JUDGE HAROLD WHITMORE.*
But beneath his name, my father had written three more words.
He wasn't alone.
And suddenly, I understood why Vanessa had been so desperate to find my mother's evidence.
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Because the truth about my mother's death wasn't just going to destroy her.
It was going to expose everyone who had helped put me behind bars.
